There are already known processes for treating such waste, which consist first of all in collecting this waste to convey it to a special processing unit, such as an incinerator or a heat-processing plant. In this respect, one should note that prior to such a treatment this waste undergoes a number of handling operations (crushing, classification, transporting . . . ) as well as very often an intermediate storage, which increases the risks, on the one hand, of a proliferation of pathogenic germs and, on the other hand, of contamination all along the processing line.
Another solution consists in treating the waste on the very site of its production. For this purpose there are known machines operating with an ozone thrust or using disinfecting solutions, such machines do however not allow disinfecting closed objects such as sampling needles into which disinfecting agents cannot penetrate. To cope with this drawback, there are known thermal machines, which have the drawback of either having to proceed to a previous crushing of the waste before heating it, with a view to a better heat transfer, or of having to heat it using overheated steam, or of using a radio-frequency source. In addition, such thermal machines are usually aimed at treating large quantities of waste (20 to 250 kg/h) and represent a heavy capital investment and require a large space, so that they are generally installed at a good distance from the site of generation of the waste, which once again gives rise to the problem of proliferation of germs resulting from transportation and an intermediate storage.
These machines are therefore in no way suited for being used by a practitioner, by a small sampling or analysis laboratory, which generate only a small quantity of waste daily. In such a case, such waste has to be transported, with the necessary precautions, to a disinfection plant, in order to ensure its treatment. This involves a particular high cost and is, moreover, not always possible for reasons of accessibility and distance of such a plant, e.g. for waste generated at an isolated place as on a ship or the like.
To cope with these drawbacks, there has been devised a heat-disinfecting device for waste, which is the object of FR-2,767,700, in this document being also disclosed a disinfecting method likely to be implemented by this device.
In this respect, it should be noted that said method includes a heat-disinfection step during which this waste (viz. placed in a polymeric bag) is placed into a mold forming a compacting area, then subjected to pressure, the gases released by compacting this waste being filtered before being discharged. The mold is then sealed and heating is applied, while simultaneously controlling the pressure and the temperature inside this mold. This heat-disinfection step also consists in that all the parts that have entered into contact with the waste are also disinfected and it is followed by a step of removal from the mold including cooling, return to the atmospheric pressure and evacuation of the compacted waste.
As regards said disinfecting device, it includes a compacting area into which a bag with waste is inserted, means for sealing the device, a heat insulation and viz. a heat-proof material, said compacting area including a piston provided with a hydraulic or mechanical jack actuated by a pump or an electric engine, a mold, a lid, means for filtering the gases released during compacting, heating means such as viz. electric resistors and/or varistors.